JPH10279062A - Cargo sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cargo sorting device capable of efficiently sorting a large volume of cargoes of various kinds using a small number of sorting conveyors. SOLUTION: A cargo sorting device is provided with a plurality of sorting conveyors 1 to sort cargoes, a plurality of buffer conveyors 2 to store the cargoes, a sorting conveyor equipment having a main conveyor 3 to connect a plurality of sorting conveyors 1 to a plurality of buffer conveyors 2 and a cargo charging port 4 connected to the main conveyor 3, and a control means to control the sorting conveyor equipment, gives the sorting information to the cargoes, a plurality of sorting conveyors 1 and a plurality of buffer conveyors 2 are allotted to the prescribed sorting destination based on the sorting information, the control means reads the sorting information given to the cargoes charged from the cargo charging port 4, and carries the cargoes to the sorting conveyor 1 through the main conveyor 3 and the buffer conveyor 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a package sorting apparatus for sorting a large number of packages according to sorting destinations based on sorting information attached to the packages.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of sorting conveyors (sorters) are provided in this kind of baggage sorting apparatus, the plurality of sorting conveyors are assigned to sorting destinations, and the baggage inputted from a baggage inlet is attached to the baggage. On the basis of the sorted sorting information, the sheet is directly conveyed to a sorting conveyor assigned to each sorting destination by a conveyor or the like. In the baggage sorting apparatus having this configuration, the number of sorting conveyors is the same as the number of sorting destinations, or a plurality of sorting destinations are allocated to one sorting conveyor to cope with an increase in the number of sorting destinations.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional baggage sorting apparatus, the number of sorting conveyors is increased or the number of sorting destinations allocated to one sorting conveyor is increased each time the number of sorting destinations increases. Was dealing with. However, the method of increasing the number of sorting conveyors may not be able to increase the number of sorting conveyors due to installation space. Also,
There is a problem that the method of increasing the number of sorting destinations to be assigned to one sorting conveyor is limited.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a baggage sorting apparatus capable of efficiently sorting a large number of packages of a large variety with a small sorting conveyor.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of sorting conveyors for sorting packages, a plurality of buffer conveyors for storing packages, and a main conveyor for connecting a plurality of sorting conveyors and a plurality of buffer conveyors. A sorting conveyor facility having a loading port connected to the main conveyor, and control means for controlling the sorting conveyor facility, while adding sorting information to the package, a plurality of sorting conveyors and a plurality of sorting conveyors based on the sorting information. Allotment of the buffer conveyor by a predetermined sorting destination, the control means reads the sorting information attached to the luggage input from the luggage input port,
The method is characterized in that packages are transported to the sorting conveyor via the main conveyor and the buffer conveyor based on the sorting information.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of a luggage sorting device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the present baggage sorting apparatus includes a sorting conveyor facility A having a sorting conveyor zone AZ, a buffer conveyor zone BZ, a main conveyor 3 and a baggage inlet 4, and a control device having a configuration shown in FIG. doing.

In the sorting conveyor zone AZ, a plurality of lines (ten lines 1-1 to 1-10 in the figure) of the sorting conveyor 1 are installed, and in the buffer conveyor zone BZ, a plurality of lines of the buffer conveyor 2 (two in the figure). 1-2-1
0, 2-11 to 2-20, ... 2-51 to 2-6
0, 60 lines), and the sorting conveyor zone AZ
Sorting conveyor 1 and buffer conveyor zone BZ
The plurality of buffer conveyors 2 are connected by a main conveyor 3.

As will be described in detail later, the main conveyor 3
The luggage input from the luggage input port 4 is sorted into the sorting conveyor 1 (1
-1 to 1-10) or buffer conveyor 2 (2-1 to 2)
-60), and the designated buffer conveyor 2
Or, it has a payout mechanism for paying out to the sorting conveyor 1. In addition, each of the buffer conveyors 2-1 to 2-60 is configured to be able to transport the load in the forward and reverse rotation directions, and has a function as a buffer for storing the load until a predetermined timing, In the payout mode (reverse rotation start mode described later in detail), the stored luggage is carried out.

When the installation area of the buffer conveyor zone BZ is small, many buffer conveyors 2 can be arranged by arranging the buffer conveyors 2 in multiple layers. Sorting conveyor 1 (1-1-
Each of the items 1-10) can pay out the luggage for each sorting destination.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device has a control panel 8, and the control panel 8 has a first bar code disposed near the entrance of the main conveyor 3 (the entrance of the buffer conveyor zone BZ). The reader 5, a second barcode reader 6 arranged at the entrance of the sorting conveyor zone AZ, and a start button 7 (see FIG. 1) for setting the buffer conveyor 2 to the reverse start mode are connected, and the first barcode reader 5, the second barcode reader The sorting conveyor 1 in the sorting conveyor zone AZ will be described later in detail based on the output signals of the bar code reader 6 and the start button 7.
(1-1 to 1-10), the buffer conveyor 2 (2-1 to 2-60) and the main conveyor 3 in the buffer conveyor zone BZ are controlled to sort the luggage input from the luggage input port 4. I have.

As shown in FIG. 3, a label 10 with a bar code on which sorting information is recorded in advance is attached to the baggage (for example, a box or container storing articles) inserted from the baggage slot 4. The label 10 includes a buffer NO code BC-1 indicating the number of the buffer conveyor 2 (2-1 to 2-60), a shift NO code BC-2 indicating a shift number described later, and a sorting NO indicating a sorting destination number. Code BC-3 is recorded.

Here, the shift number (NO) indicated by the shift NO code BC-2 means that the units to be simultaneously sorted by the sorting conveyor 1 are the same shift number, and the shift numbers are executed in ascending order of the shift number. As a special case, when there is no shift number, a large number of sorting destinations are set. In this case, the sorting conveyor zone A is directly stored in the main conveyor 3 without being stored in the buffer conveyor 2 of the buffer conveyor zone BZ.
It is transported to the Z sorting conveyor 1. If there is no shift number, the buffer NO code BC-1 and the sorting NO code BC-3 are made the same. The number of the shift numbers is such that the sum of the number of the buffer conveyors 2 required for each shift number is equal to or less than the total number of the buffer conveyors 2 and within the range of the number of digits of the shift number.

A sorting conveyor number is determined for each sorting destination with the same shift number. The sorting destination number is set to be equal to or less than the maximum number of the sorting conveyors 1 (in the figure, 10 lines of 1-1 to 1-10). Further, the number of the buffer conveyor 2 (numbers 1 to 60 in the figure) is recorded in the buffer NO code BC-1, and if the same shift number is used, it can be stored in the same buffer conveyor 2. Each buffer conveyor 2 the width W ₁ of each package 12 as shown in FIG. _{4, W 2, W 3,} ·
Sum of · · · · W _n can be stored in a range not exceeding the length L _A of the buffer conveyor 2. Further, when the total of the baggage widths of the baggage 12 having the same shift number exceeds the length L _A of the buffer conveyor 2, the baggage 12 can be stored in the plurality of buffer conveyors 2 within a range not exceeding the length L _A of the buffer conveyor 2. it can. Buffer NO code BC at this time
-1 is numbered for each buffer conveyor 2.

The order of operation of the luggage sorting apparatus having the above-described structure is as follows. The luggage 12 on which the label 10 with the bar code is attached is loaded into the luggage insertion slot 4.

The loading operation of the luggage 12 into the luggage inlet 4 is completed, and the sorting conveyors 1 (1-1 to 1-10) in the sorting conveyor zone AZ are not stored in the buffer conveyor 2 in the buffer conveyor zone BZ. Luggage 12 transported to
Is completed, the start button 7 for setting the buffer conveyor 2 to the reverse rotation start mode is pressed to set the buffer conveyor 2 to the reverse rotation start mode.

When the reverse start mode is set, the label 10 having the smallest shift number in the buffer conveyor is used.
The buffer conveyor 2 storing the luggage 12 to which the is attached starts the reverse rotation operation. If there are a plurality of buffer conveyors 2 storing the same shift number, the plurality of buffer conveyors 2 are started simultaneously. At the entrance of the sorting conveyor zone AZ, the second bar code reader 6 reads the sorting NO code BC-3 and sorts the package into the sorting conveyor 1 (1-- 1) of the number indicated by the sorting NO code BC-3.
1 to 1-10).

When there is no more baggage on the buffer conveyor 2 and main conveyor 3 in which the baggage 12 with the same shift number is stored, the buffer conveyor 2 in the buffer conveyor 2 in which the baggage 12 with the next shift number is stored. Start reverse operation. The barcode of the label 10 is read by the second barcode reader 6 at the entrance of the sorting conveyor zone AZ and temporarily stopped.

[0018] The baggage of the previous shift number on the sorting conveyor 1 is cleared.

When the above-mentioned clearing is completed, the start button 7 of the next shift number is pressed. As a result, the luggage 12 temporarily stopped by the second barcode reader 6 is transferred to the sorting conveyor 1 (any of 1-1 to 1-10) in the sorting conveyor zone.
Will be paid out.

The above operations are repeated until the shift number reaches the maximum value.

The shift numbers S1 to S of the buffer conveyor 2
As shown in FIG. 5, the assignment of No. 5 is performed in ascending order of numbers. For example, when the buffer conveyors 2-10 and 2-18 fail and become unusable, the control panel 8 sets another buffer conveyor 2 for example. It is also possible to transfer to -58 and 2-59.

Regarding the reverse start of the buffer conveyor,
Shift number S1 → S2 → S3 → S4 → S5 → S6 → S7
Execute in order. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when the shift number S3 is executed after the shift number S2 is completed, the buffer conveyor 2-9 → the buffer conveyor 2-58 → the buffer conveyor 2-11 → the buffer conveyor 2-12 → the buffer conveyor 2-13. The control panel 8 holds the shift number of the baggage 12 stored in the buffer conveyor 2 in the storage mode as a block of the buffer conveyor 2 so as to execute the operation. The reverse operation is completed in ascending order of the shift number from the buffer conveyor 2 in which the same number as the shift number being executed in the sorting conveyor 1 when the reverse start mode is set is stored.

In order to speed up the switching of the shift, it is confirmed that the one of the shift number being executed is not on the main conveyor 3 and that it is not on the buffer conveyor 2 which has been stored. Is performed, and the load 12 is transported to the second barcode reader, whereby the shift switching time can be reduced.

The above operation is performed by executing a program stored in the control panel 8. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the flow of the above operation. FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG.
Are connected to FIG. In the figure, first, luggage is inserted from the luggage slot 4 (step ST).
1). Baggage 12 with the first barcode reader (BCR1) 5
The bar code on the label 10 (step ST)
2) It is determined whether or not there is a buffer number (number) in the buffer number code BC-1 (step ST3). If not, the package is transported to the sorting conveyor zone AZ (step ST4), and the second bar The sorting NO code BC-3 of the label 10 of the package is read by the code reader (BCR2) 6 (step ST5), and the package 12 is transported to the sorting conveyor 1 (any one of 1-1 to 1-10) of the sorting NO. (Step ST6). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not there is a package 12 in the buffer conveyor zone BZ (step S).
T7) If not, the sorting operation ends.

In step ST3, the buffer N
If there is O, the buffer conveyor 2 of the buffer No.
Is determined to be normal (step ST8), and if normal, the luggage 12 is transported and stored in the buffer conveyor 2 of the buffer No., and the shift number (NO) of the shift NO code BC-2 of the label 10 is determined. It is stored (step ST9). Next, it is determined whether or not all of the packages 12 have been stored in the buffer conveyor 2 (step ST10). If all of the packages have not been stored, the process is repeated from step ST1, and if all of the packages 12 have been stored. ,
After confirming that there is no luggage in the main conveyor 3 and the sorting conveyor 1 (step ST11), the start button 7 is pressed, and the buffer conveyor 2 is set to the reverse start mode (step ST12).

Subsequently, the baggage 1 of the youngest shift NO
Then, the buffer conveyor 2 in which the buffer conveyor 2 is stored is searched, and the buffer conveyor 2 is started in reverse (step ST13). When it is confirmed that there is no luggage 12 on the buffer conveyor 2 (step ST14), the luggage 12 is transported to the sorting conveyor zone AZ by the main conveyor 3 (step ST1).
5), the luggage 12 with the second barcode reader (BCR2) 6
(Step ST16), and transports the package 12 to the sorting conveyor 1 (1-1 to 1-10) of the sorting number (Step S16).
T17). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not all the shift No. luggage has been paid out (step ST18). If all the shift No. luggage have been paid out, the process ends. If not, the process returns to the step ST12 and returns to the step ST12. repeat.

In step ST8, the buffer N
If the buffer conveyor 2 of O is not normal, the package is stored in the alternative buffer conveyor 2 and its shift number is stored (step ST18).

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a sorting conveyor facility having a sorting conveyor, a buffer conveyor, a main conveyor, and a loading port, and a control means. The sorting means allocates sorting conveyors and buffer conveyors to predetermined sorting destinations based on the sorting information, and the control means reads the sorting information attached to the luggage loaded from the luggage slot, and based on the sorting information, the main conveyor and the buffer conveyor. , The following advantageous effects can be obtained.

(1) It is possible to efficiently sort a large amount of packages of various types with a small sorting conveyor.

(2) The number of sorting conveyors can be reduced, and the buffer conveyor can be formed in multiple layers.
The entire installation space of the baggage sorting device is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of a baggage sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device of the baggage sorting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing labels attached to packages handled by the package sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a buffer conveyor and packages in the package sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the assignment of a buffer conveyor and shift numbers in the baggage sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation process of the baggage sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of an operation process of the baggage sorting apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Sorting conveyor equipment AZ Sorting conveyor zone BZ Buffer conveyor zone 1 Sorting conveyor 2 Buffer conveyor 3 Main conveyor 4 Luggage slot 5 First barcode reader 6 Second barcode reader 7 Start button

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of sorting conveyors for sorting packages, a plurality of buffer conveyors for storing packages, a main conveyor connecting the plurality of sorting conveyors and the plurality of buffer conveyors, and a loading port connected to the main conveyor. And a control means for controlling the sorting conveyor equipment, wherein the sorting information is added to the package, and the plurality of sorting conveyors and the plurality of buffer conveyors are determined based on the sorting information. The control means reads the sorting information attached to the luggage loaded from the luggage slot, and based on the sorting information, transfers the luggage to the sorting conveyor via the main conveyor and the buffer conveyor. A baggage sorting device characterized by being transported.